162 SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



lime will decompose manure and liberate ammonia. 

 Neither kainit nor gypsum should be used when ma- 

 nure is exposed to the leaching action of rains. 

 Preservatives cannot be made to take the place of 

 want of care in handling manure ; they should be used 

 only when the manure receives the best of care. 



196. Manure Produced in Covered Sheds and Box 

 Stalls. - - Manure produced under cover as in sheds 

 and box stalls is of superior quality to that produced 

 in any other way. Losses by leaching are avoided, 

 the manure is compacted by the tramping of animals, 

 and the solid and liquid excrements are more evenly 

 mixed with the absorbents. By no other system is 

 there such a large percentage of the fertility recovered. 

 Manure from well-fed cattle, when collected and pre- 

 pared in a covered shed, will have about the follow- 

 ing composition : 



Per cent. 



Water 70.00 



Nitrogen 0.90 



Phosphoric acid 0.60 



Potash 0.70 



197. Value of Protected Manure. — Manure that 

 is produced under cover has greater crop-produ- 

 cing powers than manure that is cared for in any other 

 way. Experiments by Kinnard show that such ma- 

 nure produced 4 tons more potatoes per acre than pile 

 manure, while 11 bushels more of wheat per acre 

 were obtained from land which had the previous year 



